Conservative National Party (Dranland)
The 'Conservative National Party '(CNP) is a conservative, market-oriented political party in Dranland founded in 3389 by Grand National Party defector Elaine Duvalle, Mayor of Santa Sharika. It is currently one of the major Dranish political parties, with a Parliamentary party of 29 members. It also controls the First Ministership of Valdor, and is the junior governing partner in Magadonia. It is currently led by acting President James McClellan and Parliamentary Chairperson Geoffrey Fox. History Founding The Grand National Party (GNP) went into the elections of June 3389 as the largest party in terms of Parliamentary representation, with 93 seats, under the leadership of Prime Minister Delia Breckinridge. The GNP also, prior to the election, controlled the Presidency. However, the elections saw the GNP lose five seats (all to the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC)), its legislative plurality and the Presidency (which was won by the PAC). Breckinridge's already weakened position was further compromised by the startling disclosure by the socially conservative former Magadonia Governor Vivian Trelawney (who had been removed from office in the 3389 election) that Breckinridge had agreed to devolve authority over abortion so that Provincial Governors could ban it if they so wished. Breckinbridge, despite strong condemnation by her Parliamentary colleagues, refused to resign. The uproar resulted in a successful motion to remove Breckinridge. Subsequently, in October, Janice LeCoultre, former Finance Minister and sister of former Prime Minister Marina LeCoultre, challenged Breckinridge for the chairpersonship of the GNP, and, in the absence of other candidates, prevailed in the first ballot by a majority of 11%. However, Breckinridge was not removed from the office of Prime Minister due to support for her from Ministers. The removal of the traditionalist Breckinbridge and her replacement by the much more liberal LeCoultre resulted in dissent from the traditionalist wing of the GNP. Among the disgruntled traditionalists was Elaine Duvalle, the prominent and popular Mayor of Santa Sharika. In mid-November, 3389, she stunned the Dranish political establishment by defecting from the GNP and founding the Conservative National Party (CNP). She stated at a Conservative Citizens' Union (a conservative pressure group) meeting that: "I have been a loyal and committed member of the GNP for twenty-five years, but with recently developments at the highest levels of the national party organisation, I have come to a sobering and unfortunate conclusion. The beliefs of the GNP are no longer mine, and therefore, with sadness and regret, but also with hope for the restoration of the values of the Dranish nation, I will, with immediate effect, relinquish my membership of the GNP... I establish the Conservative National Party, devoted to the values of the family, to morality and tradition, to patriotism, and to the free market. United, we can from the spearhead of the thrust for national restoration, we can take the fight to Iglesia Mayor. Early years Despite strong criticism from all of the three established parties, the GNP, PAC and Popular Party (PP), and notable politicians including former Prime Minister Marina LeCoultre, GNP Chairperson Janice LeCoultre and PP Leader Tom Marshall, two GNP parliamentarians, the veteran politician James McClellan and minority Kyo MP Orito Mori, daughter of former President Sosuke Mori, defected to the CNP. There was praise for the CNP from conservative elements of the PAC, but no defections, giving the CNP a Parliamentary caucus of two members. Vivian Trelwaney (the aforementioned Governor of Magadonia) also defected shortly after along with several less notable local officials. In April 3391, Elaine Duvalle unveiled the CNP's twin manifestos, Restoring Our Values which described the CNP's social agenda, and Building Our Nation. The first came under fire from all fronts, while the second was criticised by the left-leaning parties by (largely) supported by the GNP. In July, to rally support for the CNP, Duvalle embarked on a two-week long speaking tour that would traverse the country, speaking at every major city. In November, two years after the party's establishment, Duvalle announced the CNP's frontbench team, which would take over as soon as the next elections. In late 3392, the proposal of the controversial and divisive Sanctity of Life and Marriage Act ''would precipitate, several months later, a major political drama in Dranland. The GNP ordered its MPs to vote against the bill in accordance with the party line, despite the pleas of traditionalist members such as Jack O'Keeffe in an open letter, with severe penalties for those that dared to rebel against the three-line whip. The result was a massive backbench revolt in April, where twenty GNP MPs voted for the bill, and Delia Breckinbridge (who had just resigned as Prime Minister after losing a motion of confidence) abstained. Eventually, all twenty-one dissenting members left the GNP and joined the CNP. Breckinridge After her defection, Delia Breckinridge became the Parliamentary Chairperson of the CNP, which, although technically junior to the Party President, is in fact the most powerful party position (an exception was during the early years, during which Duvalle had more control). James McClellan had stepped down from that role in her favour, and she assumed the position without anyone else contesting the ballot. In the elections of 3393, the CNP firmly established itself as a major Dranish political party despite having the lowest Parliamentary representation, winning 50 seats. Haruo Tanabe was elected Governor of Valdor. However, its Presidential candidate Mikiyasu Chouda failed to make it to the run-off. Despite this, the CNP's electoral result was sufficiently satisfying to be called a "victory" by many senior figures within the party, such as Elaine Duvalle and Delia Breckinridge. The newly elected Elaine Duvalle became the Vice Parliamentary Chairperson. To replace her as CNP President, Chouda became the CNP President; his Vice President is former Magadonia Governor Vivian Trelawney (who is also the party's Magadonia President). Meanwhile, throught late 3393, the vicious personal rivalry between CNP founder Elaine Duvalle and PP Leader Tom Marshall continued. After Marshall accused the CNP of rigging the elections (not explicitly, though) and called CNP supporters "morons", the two could not restrain themselves from sparring whenever they recieved the opportunity. In a high public incident during weekly Prime Minister's Questions, Duvalle and Marshall (then acting Prime Minister) were thrown out of Parliament's debating chamber by Speaker Joel Hudspeth after throwing personal insults at each other (for example, Marshall called Duvalle a "dumb bitch"). Although this proved an embarrassment to the party, there was better news for the CNP at the provincial level. Dexter Rolland, the CNP's legislative leader in Valdor, was able to form government in November 3393, becoming First Minister of Valdor in a CNP-GNP government. In February 3394, the CNP was able to force its way into government in Magadonia as the GNP's junior coalition partner by successfully moving that the GNP-PP government had lost the provincial assembly's confidence, despite Governor James Chadwick's reluctance for the GNP to join with the CNP. In mid-3394, the CNP suffered another public embarrasment when freshman MP Roy Hanes was forced to resign after an extramartial affair. A by-election was held for his seat; the CNP candidate, predictably, lost by a massive margin against the GNP candidate. However, at a simultaneous by-election in President John Westwood's seat (Westwood had forfeited his seat after winning the Presidency), the CNP candidate prevailed, taking the seat, one of the GNP's safest, from the GNP for the first time in a century-and-a-half. This was a major psychological blow to the GNP. In September 3396, the CNP held the first elections for its Conventions, both at the national and provincial levels. Two months later, the CNP held its first annual Conventions, unlike earlier Conventions which had been called on the volition of the party leadership. Geoffrey Fox replaced Mikiyasu Chouda as CNP President, while Vice President Trelawney was replaced by James McClellan, who was himself replaced as First Secretary by Margaret Woodhall. The CNP nominated Elaine Duvalle for the Presidential election; no major candidates ran against her, and she won with over 90% of the vote. At the national Convention, the CNP also, as a symbolic act, adopted a new slogan which was intended to show that the CNP was not simply a single-issue party devoted to social conservatism. The old slogan, ''Restoring the values of Dranland, was replaced with Restoring Dranish values, creating growth and jobs, projecting strength abroad. At the elections of June 3397, the CNP suffered a dramatic electoral defeat, losing almost half of its Parliamentary Party. It lost also the Governoship of Valdor, and its Presidential candidate, Elaine Duvalle, fared poorly. However, there was a massive backlash against the successful Valdorian Blue Shirt Movement (VBSM), described by all other parties as 'fascist' or some variation thereof. With Breckinridge's leadership crippled by the electoral defeat, challengers emerged with the intent of gaining her position for themselves. Most notably, Breckinridge was challenged by Duvalle. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geoffrey Fox also ran, and would unexpectedly prevail. The first few rounds of the leadership election were marked by tactical voting; eventually, Breckinridge pulled out in favour of Fox to prevent Duvalle from winning, resulting in neither Fox or Duvalle winning a majority. The election thus went to the Convention, which elected Fox by a very narrow margin. Fox Geoffrey Fox, the incumbent CNP President, resigned immediately prior to entering office as Parliamentary Chairperson. He was replaced as President by James McClellan, the Vice President, in an acting capacity, before a permanent replacement, Mikiyasu Chouda, was elected to a second term. Elections Electoral dynamics Given that the Dranish electorate has generally been fairly socially liberals, it is little surprise that in the last elections, the CNP won the fewest seats out of all four major parties. However, the CNP has pockets of support around the country. Most of the CNP's support comes from the elderly, especially the more well-to-do senior citizens, as well as the from the Kyo community, which is demographically strong in Magadonia (this is one of the contributing factors to the CNP's relative strength in that province). The devoutly religious are more likely to be CNP supporters. Due to the CNP's pro-business stance, many business owners are supportive of the CNP, although somewhat more tend to support the GNP. In Valdor, CNP founder Elaine Duvalle's home province, the party recently established itself a dominant political force, before losing significant amounts of support in 3397. The elections of June 3393 marked a massive rightward swing by Valdor voters, which had hitherto voted for left-wing candidates. The province of Magadonia is also a CNP stronghold relative to its performance in other provinces. Electoral performance !align=center|Year !align=center|Chairperson !align=center|Seats !align=center|Seats (%) !align=center|Change in Seats !align=center|Votes !align=center|Votes (%) !align=center|Swing (%) |- |rowspan=2|Jun 3393||align=left|Delia Breckinridge |50||20.00||▲27||12,393,448||20.40||▲20.40 |- |colspan=7 align=left|First election contested by CNP, with Parliamentary Party of 23 due to defections, CNP in opposition |- |rowspan=2|Jun 3397||align=left|Delia Breckinridge |50||11.60||▼21||7,613,089||12.19||▼8.21 |- |colspan=7 align=left|CNP in opposition |} Structure National overview Convention The CNP's highest organ is the Convention, which elects the Central Committee and its officers, such as the Party President every two years. The Convention is also in charge of approving the Parliamentary Chairperson's legislative agenda and platform, and selects the party's Presidential candidate prior to elections. It meets on an annual basis, although special meetings can be called by the Central Committee. The Convention is composed of the Parliamentary Party and 1300 delegates. A thousand of the delegates are elected and allotted to the provinces on the basis of the membership of that provincial branch, while three hundred are allotted to a number of CNP-affiliated organisations (such as the Conservative Citizen's Union) on the basis of membership. The members of the Parliamentary Party have the weight of their votes adjusted so that their total voting power is equal to that of two hundred delegates, meaning that there are a total of 1500 votes. As stated above, the Convention selects the party's Presidential candidates. The instant runoff voting system is used to make this selection. However, an incumbent President has the right to refuse to allow a Convention challenge and will thus automatically win re-nomination, although they may waive this privilege. However, if the President in question has served for more than ten years, or their will is over-ruled by two-thids of the Convention, they will be forced to face a re-nomination contest. Central Committee The Central Committee is the highest organisational body of the party. It is responsible for the CNP's fundraising, campaigning and administration through its control of subordinate bodies, such as the Secretariat. The Party President, Vice President and First Secretary are ex officio ''members of the Central Commitee. It is composed also of a number of senior provincial and Parliamentary leaders, and twenty-four other members; the latter are elected by the Convention at annual meetings. Parliamentary Party Although the Convention and Central Committee technically are the most senior organs of the CNP, the actual centre of the party's power lies with its Parliamentary Party. Every MP from the party is automatically a member of the Parliamentary Party, although under certain circumstances they can be suspended or expelled while still remaining a member of the CNP proper. The Parliamentary Party elects its senior leaders, the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Chief Whip. The remaining leadership positions are appointed. The spokespeople for the party in certain portfolios (the CNP counterpart to ministers) are all members of the Parliamentary Party's frontbench team. Connected with the Parliamentary Party is the Backbench Caucus. This is a subgroup of the Parliamentary Party, and is composed of backbenchers only, allowing the rank and file of the party to impose a significant check on the powers of the Parliamentary leadership, short of removing them outright (a power which only the Parliamentary Party possesses). The Backbench Caucus elects its own Chairperson. Members of the party's Parliamentary leadership have no vote in the Backbench Caucus, and technically cannot attend its meetings unless invited by a backbencher (although the invitation has become a regular formality). Branches The CNP, as well as having a national party organisation, has a number of smaller branches at the provincial and local levels. The provincial branches are fairly independent of the national party, while the local branches are fairly independent of the provincial party and almost totally free of national control. The provincial branches are organised on similar lines to the national CNP organisation, with a Convention and a Provincial Committee (the equivalent of the Central Committee), led by a Provincial President. The equivalent of the Parliamentary Party at the provincial level is called the Legislative Caucus, which, like its national counterpart, is the genuine centre of gravity of the party and determines its own leadership. The Backbench Caucus, a semi-formalised national innovation, has been emulated in a number of provincial Legislative Caucuses, but not all. The grassroots organisation of the CNP is formed by the local branches. These branches are composed of all of the CNP members in a certain geographical area, generally corresponding to one electoral district or one local government area. However, in cities (a type of local government area, in this context), multiple branches are merged to form one; the original branches are re-classified as sub-branches. Branches and sub-branches are led by a President and a Local Committee, while their size eliminates the need for anything resembling a Convention, except in the largest cities. Leadership Current leadership ''Note: Positions in normal text denote positions within the party. Positions in italic text denote positions within the government. Note 2: A portfolio name refers to the relevant CNP spokespersonship if in normal text, or the relevant ministry if in italic text. Note 3: "Chairperson" refers to Legislative Chairperson below. List of Presidents List of Vice Presidents List of First Secretaries List of Chairpeople List of Vice Chairpeople Factions Although still in its formative stage, the CNP has already began to develop factions and alliances, although like the GNP, it has no formal, organised factions. There are four main factions: the libertarians, populists, centrists and hard-core conservatives. The libertarians, more accurately described as libertarian-leaning conservatives, are more tolerant socially (though still remaining conservative) and are strong supporters of the free market. They have a tendency to be fairly isolationist and disapprove to overly strong law enforcement. Notable libertarians include First Secretary and Chief Whip Margaret Woodhall and Foreign Affairs spokesperson Geoffrey Fox. The populists are in favour of greater state intervention in the economy, although they are still clearly right-of-centre, but are socially conservative. The populists have no unified views on foreign policy; instead they concentrate on domestic issues. It is easily the smallest faction, and includes Internal Affairs spokesperson Orito Mori and CNP President and Education/Culture spokesperson Mikiyasu Chouda. The centrist faction, as its name suggests, are more moderate both in terms of their attitude towards society and the economy. Its members are moderately open to relations with foreign nations, although rarely overtly enthusiastic. It is perceived as more willing to compromise with other parties. Among the centrists are Parliamentary Chairperson Delia Breckinridge, former First Secretary and Deputy Whip James McClellan and Finance spokesperson Dorita Durante-Rosales. The final faction is the hard-core conservative faction. While strongly supportive of a nearly totally unregulated market, it is far more keen on government intervention in citizens' private lives. It is the most militarist of the factions, and supports massively expanding the powers of law enforcement. Its members actively oppose immigration and foreign aid. Hard-core conservatives include Magadonia President Vivian Trelawney and Deputy Whip Jack O'Keeffe. Given that the factions are not formalised and have no official recognition from the CNP party organisation, there are many CNP members that cannot be clearly categorised. For example, CNP founder and Vice Parliamentary Chairperson Elaine Duvalle cannot be said to be a hard-core conservative, but can be considered hard-core leaning. Parliamentary Party Note: Positions in normal text denote positions within the Parliamentary Party. Positions in italic text denote positions within the government. Positions in small text denote formerly held positions. Note 2: A portfolio name refers to the relevant CNP spokespersonship if in normal text, or the relevant ministry if in italic text. Note 3: Incumbent members are highlighted in yellow. Category:Dranland Category:Political parties in Dranland Category:Politics of Dranland Category:Parties of Dranland